This is the easiest foolproof method for making crispy Tater Tots in the Air Fryer – serve them with my delicious homemade dipping sauce!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Frozen tater tots – any variety of store-bought frozen tater tots will work for this recipe.
- Cooking spray – you can leave this out, but it helps keep the tater tots from sticking to the basket and makes them extra crispy.
- Salt – to taste.
Bonus dipping sauce
- Mayo – use a low-fat mayo or non-fat sour cream to cut down on the calories.
- Ketchup – if you want to cut down on sugar, go for a ketchup that doesn’t include corn syrup.
- BBQ sauce – use your favourite store-bought variety.
- Dijon mustard – stone-ground or yellow mustard will provide a similar flavour.
- Hot sauce – leave this out if you don’t like spice.
How to make tater tots in the air fryer
Step 1: Season the tater tots.
Coat the tater tots in cooking spray, then season them with salt.
Step 2: Cook in the air fryer.
Cook the tater tots, shaking the basket every 5 minutes.
Step 3: Prep your dipping sauce ingredients.
Step 4: Make the dipping sauce.
Mix together the mayo, ketchup, BBQ sauce, Dijon mustard and hot sauce.
Step 5: Remove the tater tots from the air fryer.
Step 6: Serve with the dipping sauce and enjoy!
The best dipping sauces for tater tots
I like serving my tater tots with a homemade dipping sauce made of mayo, ketchup, BBQ sauce, Dijon mustard and hot sauce. If you're looking for more dipping sauce options, here are some of my faves:
- Ketchup
- Ranch (make your own homemade ranch sauce)
- Copycat Chick Fil A sauce
- Queso or cheese sauce
- Big Mac sauce
- Honey mustard
Frequently Asked Questions
To make frozen tater tots in the air fryer, cook them for 20 minutes at 400° Fahrenheit.
You don’t have to flip the tater tots, but you should shake the basket every 5 minutes to make sure they’re cooking evenly.
Preheating the fryer isn't absolutely necessary to make these air fryer tater tots. That being said, preheating does help to reduce the cooking time. Plus, if you add the tater tots while the unit is still cool, they may thaw slightly before the unit heats up enough to start cooking them. As a result, the outside of the tots may be slightly mushy.
Anything that you like to serve with baked potatoes or French fries will pair perfectly with fried potato tots! Thanks to their small size, they’re a kid-friendly finger food. So, they are great with meals like hot dogs, hamburgers and grilled cheese sandwiches. You could also use this recipe to make Big Mac tater tot nachos!
Make sure you're tossing the basket gently to prevent the tater tots from falling apart. If you toss the basket too roughly while the tater tots are halfway cooked, they might start to break apart.
Storing and reheating
In the same way that French fries are best when they are fresh from the fryer, the same applies to air fryer tater tots. However, if you do have leftovers, you can store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container and enjoy them again within a few days.
To reheat the leftovers, arrange the potatoes in a single layer on a sheet pan. Then, place the pan of tots into a preheated oven at 350° Fahrenheit. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until they are warm all the way through. You can also reheat them in the air fryer at 375° Fahrenheit for 5 minutes – just make sure to preheat the air fryer first.
Freezing this recipe
Once you've cooked frozen tater tots in the air fryer, you can't refreeze them – so make sure you only cook what you're going to eat and keep the rest in the freezer for later.
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The Easiest Air Fryer Tater Tots {Super Crispy}
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1 (800g) bag frozen tater tots
- Cooking spray
- Salt, to taste
Bonus dipping sauce
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp BBQ sauce
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp hot sauce
Instructions
- Preheat Air Fryer to 400 F. Coat tater tots in a little bit of cooking spray, then season with salt. Cook for 20 minutes, shaking the basket every 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix dipping sauce ingredients together if serving.
- Remove tater tots from the Air Fryer, then serve and enjoy!
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